Flexible ladder

ABSTRACT

Loops are formed at correspondingly spaced levels in two flexible fabric tapes. The two loops at each level receive the opposite ends of a ladder rung. The ladder is provided with a top rung that prevents lateral separation of the tapes to prevent disconnection of the rungs from the tape during use of the ladder. The tapes are provided with means at the upper ends for securing the ladder to the inner side of a building exterior wall on opposite sides of a window. Means may be provided on the lower end of the ladder for securing another ladder section thereto, with ladder side separation preventing means.

United States Patent 1191 Andrews June 26, 1973 FLEXIBLE LADDER 188,5463/1964 Sweden 182/196 [76] Inventor: William L. Andrews, 1 S. RidgeRoad, Richmond, Va. 23229 Primary Exqmin er -Reinaldo P. Machado All I[22] Filed: Nov. 18, 1971 orney John W Malley, Edward M Prmce et al [211App]. No.: 199,919

[57] ABSTRACT [52] US. Cl. 182/196 L p r orme t correspon ingly spacedlevels in [51] Int. Cl. E06c 1/56 two fl le fabric ape The wo loops ateach level [58] Field of Search 182/196, 197, 198, receive the pp endsof a ladder s- The ladder 132/199, 57 is provided with a top rung thatprevents lateral separation of the tapes to prevent disconnection of therungs [56] References Cited i from the tape during use of the ladder.The tapes are UNITED STATES PATI'ENTS provided with means at the upperends for securing the ladder to the inner side of a building exteriorwall on 3 5:33 at opposite sides of a window. Means may he provided on1242286 10/1917 182/196 the lower end of the ladder for securing anotherladder 1I275I0s3 8/1918 Leiding 182 57 Section them with ladder Sideseparation Preventing FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS means 117,3199/1946 Sweden 182/197 14 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUNZS lsza3.741.340

INVENTOR /mzaa oln FLEXIBLE LADDER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Flexibleladders have many uses; one principal one is for normally stored,emergency use, e.g. to escape during a fire or other emergency from anupper story of a building which does not have a fire escape or an exitavailable to an occupant of the building.

A typical known device is shown at the lower right on page 45 of theHammacher-Schlemmer Summer, 1970 catalog.

Other flexible ladders are shown in the following United States patents:

Everitt' 197,927 Borgfeldt 294,360 Fiegenbaum 314,287 Kimball et al458,023 Wright 686,182 Marryatt 2,985,254 Rabelos 3,294,196 Green3,307,654

Clearly, a normally stored ladder should be as compact and inexpensiveas is possible, consistent with its being structurally sound for itsintended use.

During emergencies, it is well-known that many people do not think asrationally as they otherwise would, so ladders for emergency use shouldalso be easy to use as intended, and difficult to use as unintended;

one of the difficulties inherent in escaping through an upper storywindow during an emergency is, for most people, that they have hadlittle experience climbing out windows under any circumstances.Accordingly, one important characteristic of a ladder for emergency use,is that it be as inviting to use as possible, especially near its upperend, where the user will have his first and most danger-filledexperience with the device.

Prior art devices all appear to be somewhat deficient in at least-one ofthe above-enumerated desired qualities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Loops are formed at correspondingly spacedlevels in two flexible fabric tapes. The two loops at each level ladderto the inner side of a building exterior wall on opposite sides of awindow. Means may be provided on the lower end of the ladder forsecuring another ladder section thereto, with ladder side separationpreventing means.

By preference, the sides of the ladder are made of woven syntheticplastic fabric tape, e.g. the kind of nylon tape used in the fabricationof automotive and aircraft passenger safety belts. In the preferredembodiment, the tape is periodically doubled back upon itself twice insuccession to create a loop and sewed together at the base of the loopto provide the rung receiving loops. The sewing also proceeds throughthe tape above each loop to structurally integrate the loop with theremainder of the tape and to make the securement less subject tofailure.

The top-most rung, and in some instances the bottom rung, differs fromthe remainder of the rungs in one preferred embodiment by consisting ofa strong metal bar having integral eyes at each end which hold theladder sides a fixed distance apart.

Above that rung, the ladder sides may safely diverge for attachment tothe building wall, e.g. about one-third of the way up the'window onopposite sides of the window, on the inside of the building, to provideconvenient and reassuring hand holds for the persons using the ladder.

The principles of the invention will be further hereinafter discussedwith reference to the drawing wherein a preferred embodiment is shown.The specifics illustrated in the drawing are intended to exemplify,rather than limit, aspects of the invention as defined in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. I is a perspective view frominside the building after the ladder has been deployed. Note that theladder sides and first rung are reassuringly in view of the user in thispreferred embodiment.

. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same installation as seen fromoutside the building;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the top rung illustrated in FIGS. 1 and2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, partly in section, of one rungend received in a ladder side loop; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of modified mounting forthe ladder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENT By preference, theflexible ladder 10 includes two sides 12 made of flexible tapes havingintegrally fabricated loops 14 at correspondingly spaced levels toreceive the opposite ends of rungs 16. The top rung 1'8 (and in theinstance depicted, the bottomrung 20 are metal bars 21 having integraleyes 24 at each end for securement to the sides 16 to prevent lateralspreading thereof. Above the rung 18, the sides diverge and terminate insecuring means 20 for securing the ladder to complementary securementdevices 22 provided on the I interior of the wall of the buildingbordering both sides of the window.

As mentioned above, the sides 12 are preferably constituted by tape,webbing or ribbon (these terms being used synonymously herein) of thesame kind as is used to make automotive and aircraft seat belting. Nylonis a typical and preferredcomposition for the sides 12, butpolyethylene, polypropylene and blends including other fibers could beused.

The loops 14 are each formed by doubling the webbing back upon itselftwice, e.g. at 26, 28, to create a loop, then sewing the two oppositeparts 30, 32 of the base of the loop to one another and to the webbingsubjacent the first doubling 26 (proceeding from the bottom of theparticular side). This provides an integrated structure having a muchlower tendency to come apart than would a joint created by sewingtogether only the two opposite parts 30, 32 of the base. The term sewingis used generically to include fastening-together with a filamentarymaterial which passes through the webbing, stapling, riveting andequivalent means.

The rungs 16 are preferably made of wood because of its good strengthand non-slip characteristics and its low cost. As shown, the rungs arecylindrical and each have a circumferential,outwardly opening groove 34in the outer peripheral surface thereof adjacent each end. thereof.

The grooves 34 receive the loops 14 to retain the rungs in place asshown. The loops 14 may be fabricated by wrapping the webbing about thebases 36 of the respective grooves 34 in order to lock the rungs inplace against withdrawal, or the loops may be fabricated so as to haveso small a size that a rung, if forced,

can be slid into place in the groove as shown.

The upper ends of the sides 12 are doubledover and straps has a loop 46created therein at the lower end thereof for securing the straps 44 tothe eyes 24.

The upper ends of the straps 44 are provided with fixtures 20 such asclip rings.

In a typical installation, eye bolts 22 or the like would be installedin the building walls beside the intended exit window. Although in somecases these bolts may be firmly secured to the window casement itself,there are many old buildings where this would be an unsafe practicesince the weightof a descending person could pull out the windowcasement. However, where that is not a problem, the devices 22 couldalternatively be installed on the window casement itself, eg. at 22'.Thestraps 44 are each at least a foot long, so, as

shown, the devices22 are installed at least a foot above the windowsill. By preference, when the flexible ladder is deployed as shown, thetop rung 18 is visible to the prospective user from within the building.This means that asthe user crawls out the window and onto the ladder 10,he has the straps 44 and the top rung immediately and reassuringlyavailable as hand holds.

In certain high risk situations, it might be desirable to keep theladder l hooked to the building at 22 at all times, with the bulk of theladder disposed on the floor adjacent the window ready to be droppedoutthe window when needed. Generally, however, the devices 22 would bepreinstalled and the remainder of the ladder l0 stored at hand, after ithas been connected at 22 and deployed a few times by its potential usersas a drill.

It should now be noticed that the lower ends of the sides 12 may beprovided with sewn end loops 50 which 0 I are secured through eyes 24 ofa bottom rung 20' similar to the metal bar 21. This permits the ladderto be adapted for use with buildings having floors of nonstandard heightthrough the addition of further flexible I ladder sections like the onedepicted which would be fastened to the bottom rung 20 through cliprings similar to those shown at 20. Typically, the distance between thetop and bottom rungs may be about 10-20 feet.

The mounting of the ladder as shown is a preferred one. However, othermountings are possible, albeit less preferred. For instance, the devices22 could be installed on the floor of the building adjacent the windowsill or in the wall of the building below thewindow sill or above thewindow.

The modification shown in FIG. 5 is an enlarged frag-' mentary viewshowing one-half of the mounting device 50, the other half beingidentical. The mounting device 50 comprises a horizontal bar 152installed in the window jam using opposed C-clamps 54 which areadjustably secured to the bar via set screws 56to varythe distancetherebetween and which are adjustable via simit the bar 52 lie insidethe building, against theinterior M lar set screws58 to accommodatesecurement in window jams of varied thickness. The opposite ends 60 offace of the window jam. and/or wall. Between the opposed C-clamps 54,the bar mounts two laterally spaced eyes 62 to which the .clip rings 20at the upper ends of the ladder straps 44 are secured.

Preferably, the eyes 62 are canted upwardly relative to horizontal, sothat when the bar 52 is disposed upon a window sill, there is stillspade to accommodate the attachment of the clip rings 20. I

The bar 52 and its clamps 54 maybe preadjusted to fit a particularwindow, then permanently secured with respect to one another and theclamps adjusted and secured with respect to the window thickness. Then,the

bar assembly may be left in place, where feasible, with a the ladderbeing left tobe attached when it is to be i used, or the bar assemblymaybe tipped generally diag- I onally in the window opening to remove it.Then the ladder may be secured via clips 20 to the bar assembly andthisunit stored near the window ready to be used. When this unit is to beused in such fashion, the window is opened, the bar assembly (with theladder attached) inserted diagonallyin the frame, lowered to the horizontal, secured in the position depicted, and the ladder permittedtohang down drom the bar assembly for immediate use. I

The remainder of the ladder may beas depicted in FIGS. 1-4.

It should now be apparent that the flexible ladder as describedhereinabove possesses each of the attributes set'forth in thespecification under the heading Sum 7 mary of the Invention"hereinbefore. Because the flexible ladder of the invention can bemodified to some extent without departing from the principles of theinvention as they have been outlined and explained in thisspecification, the present invention should be understood asencompassing all such modifications within the spirit and scopeof thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A flexible ladder comprising: an inextensible toprung bar h ring at each end thereof;

two elongated,flexible ladder sides each having an I upper endsecuredto'a respective one of said rings;

a plurality of ladder rungs extending laterally between the two laddersides at vertically spaced in-.

'tervals; a 1 i means securing the ladder rungsto the respective laddersides adjacent the ends of the rungs;

two strap means having lower ends thereof secured to respective top rungring means, extending upwardly therefrom and eachterminating in securingmeans for securing the flexible ladder to a fixed structure from whichthe ladder is to depend;

the ladder sides being fabricated of fabric webbing which is continuousfrom said top rung bar rings to' the lower end of the ladder;

each ladder side in a plurality of corresponding instanceshaving thewebbing thereof doubled over upon itself twice in close succession todefine a loop for each such occurrencerand as are aving means defining ameans securing the two sides of the base of each loop to one another andto the webbing of the respective ladder side immediately below the firstof the doubling overs of the respective loop, as counted from the lowerend of the respective ladder side. 2. The ladder of claim 1 wherein thesecuring means of the straps comprises:

two anchor means configured for fixed mounting onthe structure fromwhich the ladder is to depend;

and

a clip device on each strap for disconnectably clipping the straps tothe respective anchors.

3. The ladder of claim 2 wherein the anchor means are disposedsubstantially further apart than the ladder sides so the anchor meansmay be installed in a building wall on opposite sides of a buildingwindow, inside the building for facilitating deployment of the ladderout the window.

4. The ladder of claim 1 wherein in respect to said plurality of ladderrungs, each rung is a wooden bar having means defining acircumferentially extending, radially outwardly opening .groove thereinadjacent eachend thereof; each ladder sideloop being received in arespective one of said grooves in order to provide said means securingthe ladder rungs to the respective ladder sides.

5. A flexible ladder comprising:

two elongated, parallel, flexible ladder sides spaced apart from eachother;

a plurality of ladder rungs extending laterally between the two laddersides at vertically spaced intervals; v

each flexible ladder side being continuous and in a plurality ofcorresponding occurrences being doubled over upon itself twice in closesuccession to define a loop for each such occurrence, each loopreceiving the end of a ladder rung; and

means securing the two sides of the base of each loop to one another andto the webbing of the respective ladder side immediately below thefirstof the doubling overs of the respective loop, as counted from the lowerend of the respective ladder side.

6. The ladder of Claim 5 wherein the anchor means for securing theflexible ladder to a-fixed structure is configured to mount against theinside of a building wall adjacent the sill of a window frame, thissecuring means comprising a bar that is longer than the window withwhich it is to be associated is wide, so that the opposite ends of thebar may abut the inside of the building wall on the respective sides ofthe window; a pair of eyes secured on the bar intermediate the ends ofthe bar with closer spacing than the width of the window with which thebar is to be associated; and radially projecting guide means, onesecured on the bar between each eye and each bar end to grasp the windowframe to prevent lateral movement of the bar; and hook means on theupper ends of the ladder sides, said hook means being secured torespective of said eyes.

7. The ladder of claim 6 wherein the radially projecting guide means areconstituted by two C-clamps which open toward the respectively adjacentends of the bar, said C-clamps being thickness-adjustable'to prevent thebar from falling back into the building when there is no net forcepulling the bar forwardly.

8. The ladder of claim 7 wherein said C-clamps are secured on said barby adjustment means which are operable for adjusting the spacing betweenthe two C- clamps to accommodate the securing means to window frames ofdiffering width.

9. The ladder of claim 9 wherein said eyes are canted upward fromhorizontally to'provide clearance for the hook means when the bar restson a window sill.

10. The ladder of claim 5 wherein in respect to said plurality of ladderrungs, each rung has means defining a circumferentially extending,radially outwardly opening groove therein adjacent each end thereof;each ladder side loop being received in a respective one of said groovesin order to provide said means securing the ladderrungs to therespective ladder sides.

11. The-ladder"of claim 5 additionally comprising:

anchor means configured for fixed mounting on the structure from whichthe ladder is to depend; and

means on each flexible ladder side for securing the ladder side to theanchor means.

12. The ladder of claim 5 further comprising means defining a lower endloop on the lower end of each ladder side; and an inextensible bottomrung bar having means defining a ring at each end thereof, each ringreceiving and having secured therethrough a respective one of saidlower'end loops. v

13. The ladder of claim 5 wherein the bottom rung bar and the ringsthereof are integrally formed of metal.

14. The ladder of claim 5 wherein the ladder sides are fabricated offabric webbing.

. l l l

1. A flexible ladder comprising: an inextensible top rung bar havingmeans defining a ring at each end thereof; two elongated, flexibleladder sides each having an upper end secured to a respective one ofsaid rings; a plurality of ladder rungs extending laterally between thetwo ladder sides at vertically spaced intervals; means securing theladder rungs to the respective ladder sides adjacent the ends of therungs; two strap means having lower ends thereof secured to respectivetop rung ring means, extending upwardly therefrom and each terminatingin securing means for securing the flexible ladder to a fixed structurefrom which the ladder is to depend; the ladder sides being fabricated offabric webbing which is continuous from said top rung bar rings to thelower end of the ladder; each ladder side in a plurality ofcorresponding instances having the webbing thereof doubled over uponitself twice in close succession to define a loop for each suchoccurrence; and means securing the two sides of the base of each loop toone another and to the webbing of the respective ladder side immediatelybelow the first of the doubling overs of the respective loop, as countedfrom the lower end of the respective ladder side.
 2. The ladder of claim1 wherein the securing means of the straps comprises: two anchor meansconfigured for fixed mounting on the structure from which the ladder isto depend; and a clip device on each strap for disconnectably clippingthe straps to the respective anchors.
 3. The ladder of claim 2 whereinthe anchor means are disposed substantially further apart than theladder sides so the anchor means may be installed in a building wall onopposite sides of a building window, inside the building forfacilitating deployment of the ladder out the window.
 4. The ladder ofclaim 1 wherein in respect to said plurality of ladder rungs, each rungis a wooden bar having means defining a circumferentially extending,radially outwardly opening groove therein adjacent each end thereof;each ladder side loop being received in a respective one of said groovesin order to provide said means securing the ladder rungs to therespective ladder sides.
 5. A flexible ladder comprising: two elongated,parallel, flexible ladder sides spaced apart from each other; aplurality of ladder rungs extending laterally between the two laddersides at vertically spaced intervals; each flexible ladder side beingcontinuous and in a plurality of corresponding occurrences being doubledover upon itself twice in close succession to define a loop for eachsuch occurrence, each loop receiving the end of a ladder rung; and meanssecuring the two sides of the base of each loop to one another and tothe webbing of the respective ladder side immediately below the first ofthe doubling overs of the respective loop, as counted from The lower endof the respective ladder side.
 6. The ladder of Claim 5 wherein theanchor means for securing the flexible ladder to a fixed structure isconfigured to mount against the inside of a building wall adjacent thesill of a window frame, this securing means comprising a bar that islonger than the window with which it is to be associated is wide, sothat the opposite ends of the bar may abut the inside of the buildingwall on the respective sides of the window; a pair of eyes secured onthe bar intermediate the ends of the bar with closer spacing than thewidth of the window with which the bar is to be associated; and radiallyprojecting guide means, one secured on the bar between each eye and eachbar end to grasp the window frame to prevent lateral movement of thebar; and hook means on the upper ends of the ladder sides, said hookmeans being secured to respective of said eyes.
 7. The ladder of claim 6wherein the radially projecting guide means are constituted by twoC-clamps which open toward the respectively adjacent ends of the bar,said C-clamps being thickness-adjustable to prevent the bar from fallingback into the building when there is no net force pulling the barforwardly.
 8. The ladder of claim 7 wherein said C-clamps are secured onsaid bar by adjustment means which are operable for adjusting thespacing between the two C-clamps to accommodate the securing means towindow frames of differing width.
 9. The ladder of claim 9 wherein saideyes are canted upward from horizontally to provide clearance for thehook means when the bar rests on a window sill.
 10. The ladder of claim5 wherein in respect to said plurality of ladder rungs, each rung hasmeans defining a circumferentially extending, radially outwardly openinggroove therein adjacent each end thereof; each ladder side loop beingreceived in a respective one of said grooves in order to provide saidmeans securing the ladder rungs to the respective ladder sides.
 11. Theladder of claim 5 additionally comprising: anchor means configured forfixed mounting on the structure from which the ladder is to depend; andmeans on each flexible ladder side for securing the ladder side to theanchor means.
 12. The ladder of claim 5 further comprising meansdefining a lower end loop on the lower end of each ladder side; and aninextensible bottom rung bar having means defining a ring at each endthereof, each ring receiving and having secured therethrough arespective one of said lower end loops.
 13. The ladder of claim 5wherein the bottom rung bar and the rings thereof are integrally formedof metal.
 14. The ladder of claim 5 wherein the ladder sides arefabricated of fabric webbing.